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July 11, 2017 12:08PM (UTC)

Returning from a brief break for the July 4 holiday, Stephen Colbert was blessed with news that might finally cripple the Trump presidency.

"There is no evidence of collusion or any desire to collude with the Russians or anyone in the campaign . . . Is something that was true 48 hours ago," Colbert said to start his monologue.

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The American people learned Monday that on June 9 last year, Donald Trump Jr. met with a Russian lawyer to discuss damaging information about his father's political opponent, Hillary Clinton.

"You could knock me over with whatever you use to knock over someone who isn't the least bit surprised," Colbert said about the meeting.

"The Late Show" host explained to his audience that The New York Times had talked with three White House sources who claimed that Trump Jr. was informed via email that a Russian lawyer wanted to give the campaign dirt on Clinton.

"It's not a smoking gun, but it is a gun meeting with a Russian bullet about their mutual desire to smoke," Colbert said to describe the meeting. "Pretty damning."

In statements provided to The Times, which broke the story, Trump Jr. indicated that he did not receive any information of value for the campaign. He called the lawyer's presentation "vague" and "ambiguous."

"I assume she was immediately hired as a Trump speechwriter," Colbert joked.

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"So the excuse is: 'I tried to collude, but I didn't get anything,'" the comedian continued. "That's like saying, 'Yes, your honor, I broke into the house, but there was nothing worth stealing. So, if you think about it, they were robbing me.'"

Taylor Link

Taylor Link is an assistant editor at Salon. You can find him on Twitter at @taylorlink_